By james art U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday that a dual American-Russian citizen and New Jersey resident pleaded guilty to helping Russian military and intelligence agencies evade U.S. controls on the export of sensitive dual-use electronics. Vadim Yermolenko, 43, admitted to playing “a central role in a now-broken scheme with Russian intelligence services to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition and US military equipment,” Garland said.
Some of the export-controlled electronic components could be used in the development of “nuclear and hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and other military applications,” the Justice Department warned in a statement.
Yermolenko also admitted to his role in a transnational money laundering and procurement network involving “a vast network of shell companies and bank accounts around the world” that funneled millions of dollars through US financial institutions.
Four of Yermolenko’s alleged accomplices remain at large. Co-defendant Alexei Bryman previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and awaits sentencing, while charges against Nikolaos Bogonicolos are still pending. US officials dropped their case against co-defendant Vadim Konoshchenok – a suspected Federal Security Service operative – when he was sold back to Russia in the 2024 Ankara prisoner swap that freed journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsou Kurmasheva, among more from 20 others.